Half-Breeds
by Lonely-soul101
Summary: Twins in their own right, Penelope and Saraphina are two against the three worlds. The only thing they worry about is each other. When they get stranded in Aspen Creek, and Penelope is bound to the Marrok by a Sorcerer in league with an Archangel, they must rely on their blood-given powers to protect them when Heaven and Hells' armies meet, with them in the middle of it all.


The bus was smoking.

The driver swore, hitting the brakes a bit too hard and pulling onto the side of the road. The smoke from the engine was thick and dark, and even from inside the bus, my nose burned. Sara coughed as the high-strung teacher, Margarette Goldina, stumbled from her seat and followed the bus driver out onto the road. We could hear her shrill voice, over the sounds of the chaperones trying to calm us, as she shrieked at him for being such an incompetent driver.

Sara nudged my arm, telling me to move so she could get to her bag. Smoke was starting to flow into the bus. The chaperones, a bit panicked, began to usher everyone outside. All twenty-four of us filed off the bus and onto the side of the road. Sara shifted close to me, looping her arm in mine as I shoved my free hand into my pocket.

"Oh my god, this is _not_ happening!" One of the younger, more sporadic girls began to hyperventilate. "Our bus is broken and we're stuck in the middle of _nowhere!_ Oh my god, oh my god!"

Sara coughed again, prompting me to back further towards the woods and away from the smoke. The stench of burning oil and rubber _should_ scare off any major predators; besides, it was the middle of the day.

"This is no good. The engine is shot. It'll need new parts before we can even consider fixing it." The driver grumbled, throwing his hat on the blacktop of the highway.

Miss Goldina looked ready to explode. Her face turned bright red and her lips were pinched together so tightly I could only see a faint line of her mouth. It was very amusing to watch, actually. Usually she's bitching out at me, so something like this was a rare opportunity for me to genuinely enjoy one of her psychotic breaks.

"You're telling me that because _you_ got lost, I am stranded in the middle of the Cabinet Wilderness, with sixteen of the school's most undesirable, foul-behaved, evil-doing students?!" She began to shriek, pointing a frantic finger at the bus driver, then to us, then back at him. "_HOW DO YOU EXPECT ME TO SURVIVE THIS?!"_

I couldn't resist; I laughed. Sara pinched my arm and scowled, but even she had the faintest trace of a laugh on her face. She and I watched as Goldina the Dragon began to scream and rant at the poor, fat, old bus driver. The other students sat in stunned silence, some on their phones, probably telling their parents that they were stranded in the middle of nowhere.

Oh, man. Opportunity is staring me in the face.

"You know, I heard there was a pack of Werewolves wandering these woods..." I said, to no one in particular. Most of the students in the class were terrified of werewolves and the Fae. I, of course, had nothing to fear in them; Sara had only to concern herself with Werewolves. But she still punched me hard in the side when some of the girls started having overly-dramatic panic attacks.

"What? Oh please, you guys don't actually believe me, do you?" I snapped, rubbing my side. "Please. The werewolves like to stick to the cities."

"That's besides the point, Penelope. Leave them be." Sara snapped back, crossing her arms. "That's completely unfair to them. Don't make fun of them!"

I stuck my tongue out at Sara; she returned the gesture.

That's why I love her. She's a goody-two-shoes, yeah. She's my "example student", after all. But Sara and I have been together since long before we ever were put in the "Student Partnership Reform" program. Ever since we were born, we've been together. We'd be twins, if our mother's weren't sisters, and if our fathers weren't brothers.

It was meant to be, my mother always says. Our mothers were twin sisters, both kind and beautiful, though my mother was a bit more soft and tender. Our fathers were brothers; Sara's dad being the elder. They'd been...fighting for some time. They never agreed on anything, never saw eye to eye, and my father held a serious grudge against Sara's dad. Something about snitching.

Anyways, they were have a meeting of sorts at this sports bar. Our dads serve as liaisons for their respective...companies. They were competing companies, and yet they had to work together. So our dads, brothers, working for these two companies, would meet maybe every few months or so and talk about business.

Well, the bar they were at was where our mothers worked. When Sara's mom served them their drinks, her dad fell in love. When my mom gave them their food, my dad fell in love. This lead to that, you know, the birds and the bees...

Anyways, the two of us, me and Sara, were meant to be together.

"Miss Goldina; there's a truck coming!"

We all gathered at the edge of the road, staring expectantly at the tuck coming from the opposite way. From what I could tell, there were two occupants. It rolled to a stop near us, pulling towards the bus. The door popped open, and a man stepped out of the driver's seat.

"Hell-o honey." I muttered. Sara elbowed me.

He was Native, definitely. If the hair and skin weren't clue enough, it was the way he stood, the demeanor. He had this air about him, of confidence, authority, and solitude. He was extremely well built, with beautiful muscles hiding underneath that shirt of his. I licked my lips.

"It seems you've come across some trouble." He spoke to us all, but obviously he meant to speak with Miss Goldina. She came forward, suddenly cool and collected, smiling a 'fuck-me' smile. Good grief, this woman was bi-polar. "Oh, yes. Our bus has broken down, as you can see. My students and I were on our way to Troy."

"Well, for starters, you're headed in the wrong direction. You must have passed Troy on your way here." He said, pointing down the road. Stupid bus driver. "The only place in the direction your going is my town. It's less than a mile away, and we have a few mechanics that can help with your bus."

"Oh, _thank you_, sir. But I have twenty-four students, and you have a two-seat truck." She fluttered her lashes. What, was she going to seduce him into leave us out here, to our own devices?

A woman suddenly appeared around the truck, with whiskey colored hair and freckles galore. She smiled, and suddenly everyone else felt better.

My nose twitched; something stank about her.

"We can take a few of you in the truck bed; when we come back, we'll bring a few more trucks with us to get the rest." She said, voice light and soothing. My stomach churned when she walked towards us. Something was not _right_ about this woman. When she touched the Native man's hand, the stench was suddenly pouring from his too. I backed away a bit too suddenly, unnerved. Sara gave me a strange look.

Miss Goldina looked less pleasantly at the woman. "Oh, that would be wonderful!"

She put herself and six other students in the truck bed, and the man and woman loaded back into the truck. When they drove off, the chaperones corralled us into groups, by our Reform groups. Sara, as my Example, was partnered with me and my fellow delinquent, Madison. Madison kept quiet and to herself, so Sara tugged me a few feet away.

"What was up? You were all hungry-eyes at that guy, and when the woman stepped out, you, like, freaked out."

I shook my head. "Something stank about them."

"I didn't smell anything."

"_You_ wouldn't."

She paused, before nodding in understanding. "Do you think they're..."

"Not Sorcery. I would have seen a cousin or something; they like messing with me when they're around. No, they're higher than that. Closer to Earth. Almost like...well, werewolves."

"I would be able to smell a werewolf. Maybe it was just him? The Native blood in him?" She crossed her arms. "He had that Salish thing to him."

"No, no. This isn't just some Native-American who-do messing me up." I glanced at the trees, frowning. "It wasn't Fae or Vampire; they have to be wolves. And if they are, we're leaving."

"Leave?" Sara took a step towards me. "Do you understand that we're students? _High School?_ We can't just ditch a field trip across the country like we would classes! The police could get involved!"

I shook my head. "Then we call your mom. I'm not going to let you wander into a town when the possibility of it being filled with _werewolves, _of all things."

"I'm not weak and fragile, Penelope. You know I'm not." She said crossly.

I stuck my hands on my hips. "I know that, Sara. But you can't blame me for being cautious. Besides, your dad would _butcher_ me if he found out I let you hang out around-"

"Ladies?"

We froze, turning to the road. All the other students and chaperones were gone, save Madison. Whoa, when did that happen? A young, geekish man with sandy blond hair raised an eyebrow at us from his Humvee. The stench of earth, musk, and mint was heavy on him, along with a strange, sweet, saltiness. His eyes were warm and hazel, and his skin was very pale.

Oh, fuck me with a cactus. He's most definitely a wolf.

"There's room in the back." He gestured, as Madison claimed the front seat. I grabbed Sara's arm and put myself between her and the werewolf, putting her in the seat farthest from his reach when we got in. He gave me an unreadable look in the mirror. I turned my head and stared at the trees as he turned around and continued down the highway, towards where the other students had been taken.

I had to get Sara out of this town as soon as possible. There was risk enough with me being here, but with her in a town possibly infested with werewolves...my uncle would have my head.

Sara gently took my hand, smiling reassuringly at me. I frowned at her as she squeezed my fingers, placing my hand on her lap and playing with my rings. She was distracting herself. She could smell it now. The werewolf stench filled this car like the smell of a backed up sewage drain would a school bathroom. I glanced at the werewolf driver in his rear-view mirror.

His eyes met mine in the mirror. For a moment, the natural human instinct to lower my gaze and turn away rose in my throat. I blinked, but forced myself to scowl at his gaze, not turning away.

If it was a normal human being, or a normal werewolf, he'd have turned away by now. He would be uncomfortable with staring at me, straight in the eyes. But he kept his gaze, brows furrowing instead. Confusion? Why would he be confused at me not backing down? Unless he was a dominant wolf...

Something burned in my eyes suddenly.

It hurt to challenge his dominance. I turned my head to Sara - not submitting, but not continuing to harm myself - blinking away the hot tears that rushed forward to soothe the pain in my eyes. She gave me a strange look; I stuck my tongue out at her again, a sloppy coverup. She smiled at that, returning to playing with my jewelery. I could still feel the wolf's eyes on me.

We were leaving this town as soon as I could get service.

* * *

The bus would be out of commission for more than a few days. Something about getting parts. So we were lodged up in the dingy motel at the beginning of town. It was an old-fashion little thing, with eighteen rooms and two beds per room, and three keys for the whole motel, meaning Miss Goldina and one other chaperone would have a key. Curfew; yay.

Example students were rooming with their two problem students; three per room. The chaperones, four including Miss Goldina, were two to a room. So in total we took up ten rooms, starting at eighteen and flowing backwards. Sara, Madison, and I were in room number eight.

"Dibs on sleeping alone." Madison mumbled as we were let into our room. She threw her duffel onto the far bed, tearing off her shoes and flopped on the pillows. I shrugged. "Window."

Sara gave me a look, before gently placing her bag on the bed. The first thing she did was place a picture on the nightstand. Madison dug into her bag and tore free a cross, which she placed on the nightstand. My mouth burned with a string of four-letter words dying to come free.

"Miss Goldina wants the examples in her room for a quick meeting. Try to stay out of trouble, alright?" Sara said sweetly, before kissing me and leaving. I peeked my head out of the room and watched her join up with Amy Wilkins, another goody-two-shoes, and the two skip down to Miss Goldina's room. Even from down here, I could smell the stink of the werewolves that were in there as well.

Annoyed, I checked my crappy cellphone; still no service. We'd be here until I get my hands on a phone.

Madison gagged. "You two are gross."

I smirked at her, closing the door. "If you want a kiss, Maddy, all you have to do is ask. But Sara's not into girls, unfortunately for you. I'm the exception."

Her cheeks flushed. How cute. "Sometimes, I swear you two _try_ to make feel uncomfortable." She pulled a butterfly knife from the depths of her bag and began to play with it, flipping it back and forth, back and forth. I sauntered over to her bed, crawling next to her, and caught the end of the blade mid-flip. Madison scowled, but let me pluck the knife from her fingers. I popped it open once over my fingers.

"I could make you _very_ uncomfortable, Madison. All it takes is five minutes and a can of whipped cream." I whispered, bending over. "Unless you can do me a little favor..."

"What?" Madison's breath was a little heavy as I crawled over her, still holding the knife. I let my hand rest next to her face and bent low. My hair made a pretty red curtain around her face. "My poor Sara's stressed, you see. Your antics and my behavior at that stinky old museum have her all in a tizzy. So, I want you..." The knife touched her red cheek, the side trailing down her throat and to her chest. Her pupils dilated and her breathing was frantic; that wasn't because of the knife pressed against her skin.

"...to distract the broad who works here while I borrow the front desk phone. I need to call Sara's mommy, check in, if you will." I was almost nose to nose with her. I slipped the knife into the mattress next to her head, letting my fingers brush over her ear. My skin felt warm and my stomach buzzed pleasantly.

"So?" I whispered. Madison's mouth was soft and delicious looking as I brushed my lips over her jaw. She had a very pretty face; high cheekbones, beautifully angled jawline, pouty lips, and wide, pretty brown eyes. She looked even prettier with her lips parted and her skin hot and flushed. I let my hand fall to her breasts and feathered my way down. Even my fingers were tingling. "Will you be a good girl? Do as I ask?" My voice was husky, but there was an eerie echo that I forgot was there sometimes.

"Yes." She said. "Yes."

"Good." I purred, feeling a hunger rise in my throat. Then I pushed myself off her bed and sauntered to the bathroom. "Give me a minute and then go get the desk lady."

I took a moment to look at the shower and the toilet. Then I turned the shower on hot. I let the water run with rather poor pressure before turning my attention to the toilet. My fingers waved over the porcelain bowl; the water swirl, and flushed on its own accord. Then it stopped; no water refilled the bowl. I turned the shower off and I peeked my head back out at Maddy. "The toilet broke when we turned the shower on."

Maddy slipped off the bed and was out the door. I followed, rather slowly, and propped the bolt to keep the door open. When I was outside, I leaned on the wall, and waited.

The Native American suddenly came outside, eyes landing on me. I almost swore; I forgot werewolves could smell magic.

Maddy came back with the woman from the front desk. When the woman saw him, she beckoned him over. "Charles, could you come here for a moment please?"

The Native came towards us. I forced myself to stay put, to stay relaxed. When he passed me, my nose automatically wrinkled. He stank of earthly magic and nasty wild dog. As soon as the door partially shut behind them, I made my way to the front desk. I shut the door and propped it shut with a foldable chair behind the desk. Then I slid over the desk and grabbed the phone.

Sara's mother picked up on the first ring.

_"Hello?"_

"Aunt Faith; it's Penelope. There's been a turn of events on the trip. How soon could you get to Montana?"

_"What? What happened? Is Saraphina alright?"_

"Yes, right now she is. We're in this town called Aspen Creek-"

_"WHAT?!"_

Her shriek caught me off guard; and pissed me off. "I swear to - do you know what this place is?!"

_"I'm calling Sara's father. You get her to Troy TONIGHT, Penelope. I don't care how much trouble you girls could get into; your mother and I will handle that. You have to get her out of that town NOW." _

"Then you tell me what the deal is." I snapped. I loved my Aunt Faith, but when she or my own mother hold things out on me, I get pretty pissed off. "How many werewolves are in this town? And what's the deal with-"

_"Have you met Bran Cornick yet?"_

"Who?"

_"He'd look like a college student at most; pale, blond, and if you've been challenging anyone, he's_ _**extremely** dominant."_

Son of a bitch. I leaned on the desk, pinching the bridge of my nose."Yeah, I think I have."

_"This is very bad." _Aunt Faith said nervously. I could hear her tapping her nails over the line. _"Leave. Now. Get her to Troy."_

"Wait, hold on." I dug through my pockets for a hair tie. "Who's Bran Cornick?"

___"He's the Marrok, Penelope. The Alpha of all Alphas. And he's very, very old. Aspen Creek is his town; everyone there is either wolf or family of a wolf. It sprang up around Bran himself, before the Revolutionary War."_

My heart stopped beating. Old meant smart, in my world. Old meant strong. Old meant most likely to kill me or Sara in a second's breath. "Sara's dad better be in Troy tonight. I'm getting her now, and we'll be walking."

_"No! Get a car, something! I don't care how you get there, just do NOT walk!"_

A few moments later, I near running back to the room, coming to a pounding stop and throwing open the door. Sara and Madison were on the beds; the desk woman and the wolf, Charles, were gone. Sara frowned at me. "What's wrong?"

"We're gone. Now. Get your bag, help me find a car." I said, snatching up my duffel bag and propping a boot on the bed to tighten my laces. Sara fumbled with her bag, replacing her flats with a pair of tennis shoes. One thing about us; we will never be caught dead in heels. If we can't run in them, they're no good. Which sucked, because I _love_ the sexy pumps my dad gets me for my birthday every year.

I slung my bag across my chest and looked at a wide eyed Madison. Sara frowned, tightening the strap on her bag as she slung it across her chest as well. "Give her a story." I said.

"Penelope?"

Connor, one of the other delinquents, frowned from the door. "Goldina wants all the naughty students in her room for a stern talking to." He said, eying my bag suspiciously. "You aren't going to make a break for it, are you?"

I clinked my rings together. Damnit. "No, smart ass. Just...readjusting. Tell Margarette Maddy and I will be there for a moment." I said, shooing him. He disappeared; Maddy slipped past me out the door. I grabbed Sara by the shoulders. "Do not talk to anyone under any circumstances. You father is coming for us in Troy tonight. If you could hot wire a car I'd tell you to go without me, but this is werewolf country and I don't want you alone anyways. Wait for me. We are leaving when I find a car."

She nodded. "Be careful. There are at least three other wolves in the room with Miss Goldina." She said, watching me drop my bag by the door. I kissed her and made my way down to room 18, where Miss Goldina was rooming with one of the goody-two-shoes parents. I almost crossed my arms; then I saw the werewolf, Charles, outside with the pale, blond man who drove Sara, Madison, and I into town.

Bran Cornick.

I heard Charles mutter something about magic, before they noticed me. I slipped past them into the room, putting myself against the wall between the window and the door. The other students were scattered about the room, most sitting in some way on some form of furniture. Bran and Charles came in, too, going and standing next to Goldina.

I took to playing with my rings.

"While we are in this town, I expect you to be on _good_ behavior. No pranks, no theft, no vandalism, and _no sex_." Goldina glared at me. "Miss Ashcroft."

I held my hands up defensively. "I've been good this trip." I said. "Besides, I wasn't one of the ones going at it _doggie_ style in the back of the bus. Conner." I smirked at the boy. A few of the other boys gave him high fives. He grinned, reveling in the attention. I looked to another student. "Tommy."

A choir of laughter and teasing rang. Tommy, a rather aggressive, muscular, pot-head in our group, burst to his feet. "You little bit-"

Bran was the nearest one. He was between me and Tommy in a heartbeat. I didn't even bother moving from my relaxed position on the wall. "Something wrong, Tommy?" I asked calmly. He glared at me, but couldn't bring himself to challenge Bran any further. He sat back down, and Bran turned to me. Goldina glared at me coldly. "Enough of your antics, Miss Ashcroft."

I shrugged. "Just saying."

Bran gave me a look, like someone would look at a child who said something clever. Or a bug. He returned to his seat, one of the room chairs, where he tilted his chair on one leg. Hey, that's fun.

"Mister Cornick here," She gestured to Charles. "has been given permission to detain any of you who so deserve it. So, unless you want to spend a night in a jail cell _and_ have a phone call made to your parents and parole officers, I suggest you do your best to behave like your example students."

I rolled my eyes, twisting one of my rings. Blah, blah, blah. She gave us the same spiel when we left the school. I tapped my boot on the floor; I needed to think of a way out. There were no cameras here. In a town full of werewolves, that wasn't a necessity. And the front desk lady was sure to have a car. Troy was maybe a few hours, if I was to judge. If we left at sundown, we'd get there in the early, early hours. Until then, we'd have to keep our heads low. Stay in our room.

Unless something happens.

After that little pow wow, we were sent to our rooms for the remainder of the evening. I kept thinking of ways to get to the truck and get to Troy by midnight, even as I walked. I was so distracted, I didn't see Tommy coming up behind me like a train on crack. He didn't even bother grabbing my attention. No, he came at me and punched me in the back of the head.

Or he tried to. He aimed too low, over (or should I say under) estimating my height and nailing me in the shoulder. I rolled with it, using the leverage from the turn to swing my leg into his shin and knock him over. I was tempted, oh so tempted, to mount his ass and beat his face in. But before I could even move, Bran Cornick had me by the shoulders against the wall.

I didn't even bother glaring. I just smiled down at Tommy, who moaned in pain. "Next time, don't sucker punch me like a bitch. If you're going to hit someone when their back is turned, you deserve to get the tar beat out of you." I said evenly, before turning my gaze to Bran and smiling. His brow twitched at how calmly I could hold his gaze.

"You can let me go. I'm going to my room, like the good little delinquent I'm supposed to be."

* * *

I hate it when something happens.

It was almost completely dark out; the time I was going to take Sara and go. We'd both showered and figured out a way to help keep our scent trail at a minimum; rain. A rain storm would hard and very taxing, but together, we could manage. I'd already knocked out Madison, snatching a couple bucks she had stowed in her bag, just in case. Sara had been praying; she assured me her father was coming.

The front desk lady was still here; her car was parked by the road. It was a crummy, two-seater truck with lots of rust and grime. But I knew the year enough to know how to wire the baby if the old screwdriver trick failed. The only thing we had to do was wait. Which was boring as all hell, but hey, you gotta do what you gotta do.

We went to bed when the chaperones came around to check. We'd left our boots on either side of the bed, so, an hour and a half after lights out, I got up and slipped on my boots. Sara followed in suit, tugging nervously at the black jacket I'd loaned her. I slipped on my gloves, grabbed our bags, and crouched by the door. Sara checked the peep hole, before clearing me to open the door. I stuck low, glancing first down the rest of the rooms. Then I peeked around and saw no one but the stupid truck that would be our ticket to safety.

I grabbed Sara and we put ourselves on the driver side. With a few magic jiggles from my lock picking tools, the door popped open, no alarm. I shoved Sara into the passenger's seat, silently ordering her to keep her head down. The I popped the screwdriver into the ignition; and almost cried when the truck started.

I left the lights off, carefully backing out and making sure the tires were silent as possible as they shifted from reverse to forward. Then, once the motel was obscured by trees, I gradually put pressure on the gas. There was a small howl in the distance, but I did my best to ignore it.

"How long?" Sara whispered.

"A few hours. Sit tight. Eyes and ears open." I said shortly, patting her arm. "I'm sorry I made you come along. Next time, you pick the-"

We hit the sign that read _Welcome to Aspen Creek_. Literally, we hit it. The truck's wheel suddenly turned, almost taking off my fingers. The nauseating smell of black magic via sorcery burned my nose, right before it was broken by the airbag. I had almost no time to rip off my buckle and throw myself over Sara when the magic-laden airbag smashed into us.

My back was torn open, blood and flesh ripped apart. I was screaming, I know I was; I could feel the burning in my throat. Sara was screaming, too. My hands and shoulders were on fire as they burned. She wasn't trying to hurt me. But I was injured far worse than she was.

When the screaming voices, metal, and tires stopped, I was no longer in the truck. I was lying a few feet away, at the treeline. There was blood everywhere. I could see a blurring image of white, just barely hanging outside the truck. It moved; whether it was the airbag or Sara, I couldn't tell. I heard the howls of wolves as they neared us. Black magic burned my nose.

The hands that grabbed me were human, but they were soiled, by a demon. I was dragged off the ground and thrown onto something soft warm. Sara was next to me. I could feel her burn. I still bled. Whatever was beneath me became moist and squelchy. I groped blindly in the blurry darkness for her hand; when I felt her fingers burning mine, I relaxed, and slowly fell into the blackness that beckoned me.


End file.
